Pole base

ABSTRACT

A pole base for securing a pole to a surface area consisting of a two-piece housing having a pole-receiving cylindrical opening and a cavity communicative to one side wall of the cylinder. Within the cavity is disposed a wedge having an inclined surface so that the wedge moves into the cylindrical surface of the housing. The wedge includes pole engaging surfaces and a screw bolt threadably engaged to the top of the wedge so that the wedge can be moved upward against a corresponding inclined wall of the cavity and secure itself to a pole inserted into the cylindrical hole of the pole base.

[451 July 15,1975

United States Patent [191 Lindberg, Jr.

[ POLE BASE [76] Inventor: Albert W. Lindberg, Jr., 179 W.

Fifth St., Bayonne, NJ. 07002 Jan. 22, 1974 Appl. No.: 435,546

Primary Examiner-William l-l. Schultz Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Allison C. Collard [22] Filed:

ABSTRACT A pole base for securing a pole to a surface area consisting of a two -piece housing having a pole-receiving cylindrical opening and a cavity communicative to on side wall of the cylinder. Within the cavit y is disposed ge having an inclined surface so that the wedge -8 n wm mm. B 24 .54 2 ;3 5 6 42 n 31 n ,3 u 4 7 .4 "W WN4B "23 .O mmm mmh .r ""3 lun "H L 1 C WM Ul m 111. 2 8 555 a wed moves into the cylindrical surface of the housing. The

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS wedge includes pole engaging surfaces and a screw bolt threadably engaged to the top of the wedge so 52/298 52/298 X that the wedge can be moved upward against a corre- 248/44 sponding inclined wall of the cavity and secure itself 52/297 to a pole inserted mto the cylindrical hole of the pole 52/298 base mmmm mn uO fi SDT d e and wan BSVA 078 6 85672 89999 11111 33952 1 35564 81039 .99 54096 2807 233 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 571,895 5/1924 52/297 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures i c .0 v o w .a

POLE BASE I This invention relates to a recessed pole base for securing poles and handrails to a flat surface area.

More specifically, this invention relates to a demountable pole base adapted to be secured in concrete and including a tightening screw to permit poles to be inserted and removed from the base as required.

In the construction of recreational facilities, such as swimming pools and the like, it is often desirable to have the handrails and other items of hardware removable for cleaning or maintenance from the concrete surfaces surrounding the pool. In most instances, the railings and supports for the diving board are permanently mounted in concrete and are therefore not con veniently removable without destroying the concrete surface. In other instances, pipe sleeves are inserted into the ground so that pole pieces, having a slightly smaller diameter, can be loosely inserted into the sleeves. In this type of construction, the railings or other items of hardware are not secured to the concrete surface but are merely in sliding engagement with the sleeve members so that there is the possibility that the pole pieces can become accidently disengaged from the sleeves causing possible injury to the users of the recreational area.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a pole base which is designed to be recessed or submerged within a concrete surface so as to receive a pole or an end of a handrail, and demountably secure the handrail against sliding movement within the pole piece. The pole piece according to the present invention is designed as a cylindrical sleeve having an end cap to limit the depth of insertion of the end of the pole into the pole piece. Along one side of the cylindrical pole piece is mounted a sliding wedge connected to a screw bolt so that as the screw bolt is tightened, the wedge frictionally engages the side of the pole to prevent the withdrawal of the pole from the pole piece. The back.

of the wedge piece moves against a surface that is inclined toward the side of the pole so that as the wedge moves upward, it advances toward the surface of the pole until it firmly engages both the pole surface and the inclined surface of the pole piece.

When the pole is to be removed from the pole base, the screw bolt which is threadably engaged to the wedge is loosened to permit the wedge to slide downwardly away from the inclined surface and disengage the pole.

The pole base is preferably cast into two half pieces rather than making it from a single casting since the detailed portions of the half pieces are more perfectly formed. The casting process for a two piece construction is also more effiecient since there are fewer rejects.

. It is therefore an object according to the present invention to provide a pole base which is simple in design, easy to manufacture and inexpensive in cost.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose the embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

In the drawings wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the separated halves of the pole base according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pole base recessed within a concrete surface and taken along section 2-2 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown the pole base according to the invention having two halves 11 and 12 which are approximately semi-cylindrical in shape and including a base shelf 35 formed at the lower end. A drain opening 14 is also provided within base shelf 35. Both half sections of the pole piece are provided with a'plu'rality of correspondingly aligned tabs 23 and 24 having apertures to receive rivets 19 so as to secure the halves together. A flange or rib 30 is formed around a rim of section 11 so that the rim will overlap the mating edges of both half sections in order to properly align the half sections before they are riveted together. An additional aperture 20 is provided in a flange integrally formed on section 11 so as to receive a grounding strap 27. The grounding strap can be secured by means of a screw 31 within aperture 20 as shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Communicative within the side walls of both half sections 11 and 12 is a cavity 21 adapted to receive a wedge 13 within the assembled half sections of the cavity. The cavity includes an inclined surface 22 for slidingcontact with an inclined surface 122 of the wedge. wedge 13 includes a pair of axial jaws 18 adapted for engagement to a pole or other cylindrical article inserted within the cylindrical opening defined by the two half sections. Within the top portion of wedge 13 is formed a threaded hole for threadably engaging screw bolt 15 which is inserted into opening 26 formed within the top of the assembled pole base. A washer 16 can be provided between the head of the screw bolt and the topof the pole base. Aperture 26 is preferably elongated in the direction of the axis of the cylindrical opening formed by the assembled pole pieces.

After the pole halves are assembled together by means of rivets 19, the pole base can be deployed with a concrete surface 28 as shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. The flanges containing the rivets as well as the cavity formed for receiving the wedge serve to underscore the pole piece within the cement so that after the cement hardens into concrete, the pole piece is permanently captured within the surface. Drain opening 14 which is formed at the bottom of the pole piece, is preferably aligned with a porous surface 29, such as sand or earth, to prevent water from accumulating within the cylinder. After a cylindrical pole 25 is inserted into the pole piece, screw bolt 15 can be tightened to slidably move wedge 13 upward as shown in detail in FIG. 2 against incline surface 22. As wedge 13 moves upwardly, jaws 18f'e'ngage the side walls of cylindrical tube 25 so that the wedge is frictionally restrained between the side walls of tube 25 and inclined surface 22.

Wedge 13 has been designed so that its inclined wall 122 has about the same angle of incline as wall 22, and jaws 18 project into the cylindrical surface area of the pole .base before the wedge reaches the top of cavity 21.

In order to disengage pole 21, screw bolt 15 is loosened so that wedge 13 can be moved downward to permit jaws 18 to release from contact with the surface of cylinder 25. The wedge cavity 21 has a depth sufficient to permit the wedge to move a distance downward so that jaws'l8 will release from pole 25. Aperture 26, which has previously been described as being elongated, permits screw bolt to move slightly toward the axis of pole as the wedge moves upward within its cavity during the tightening operation.

The pole base, the wedge and the screw bolt are preferably constructed of metal, which is noncorrosive to be able to withstand the outside environment. In a preferred embodiment, the pole base has been constructed approximately 4. inch in length'so that it can be recessed in sidewalk areas formed of concrete of approximately the same depth. Only set screw 15 has been designed to project above the surface of the sidewalk to enable the user to release pole 25 as required,

While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A pole base for securing a pole to a surface area comprising:

a two-piece housing having a pole receiving opening defining a cylindrical hole, and a cavity positioned adjacent to the opening and communicative to one side wall of the cylinder, said cavity having an inclined wall sloping toward the opening, said housing having an aperture adjacent to said cylindrical hole and communicative with said cavity;

within said cavity, said wedge having a pole engag-- ing surface communicative with said cylindrical surface and having a threaded bore in one surface; and

a screw bolt disposed through the aperture in said housing and engaging said threaded bore for moving said wedge within said cavity so that the movement of said wedge toward the opening of the pole base against said inclined wall forces saidwedge into the cylindrical area. I

2. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein each piece of said two-piece housing includes flanges having corresponding apertures, and a rivet inserted through the aperture of each flange for securingthe two pieces together. i i

3. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one piece of said two-piece housing includes an edge rib formed around the rim of the mating edge to align the other housing piece.

4. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein said housing additionally includes 'abase shelf formed at one endof the cylindrical hole, said base shelf including a drain aperture having a smaller diameter than said cylindrical hole.

I 5. The pole base as recited in claim l'wherein the pole engaging surface of said wedge includes jaws formed longitudinal to the axis of said cylindrical hole. 

1. A pole base for securing a pole to a surface area comprising: a two-piece housing having a pole receiving opening defining a cylindrical hole, and a cavity positioned adjacent to the opening and communicative to one side wall of the cylinder, said cavity having an inclined wall sloping toward the opening, said housing having an aperture adjacent to said cylindrical hole and communicative with said cavity; a wedge having an inclined surface for sliding contact with the inclined wall of the cavity and disposed within said cavity, said wedge having a pole engaging surface communicative with said cylindrical surface and having a threaded bore in one surface; and a screw bolt disposed through the aperture in said housing and engaging said threaded bore for moving said wedge within said cavity so that the movement of said wedge toward the opening of the pole base against said inclined wall forces said wedge into the cylindrical area.
 2. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein each piece of said two-piece housing includes flanges having corresponding apertures, and a rivet inserted through the aperture of each flange for securing the two pieces together.
 3. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one piece of said two-piece housing includes an edge rib formed around the rim of the mating edge to align the other housing piece.
 4. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein said housing additionally includes a base shelf formed at one end of the cylindrical hole, said base shelf including a drain aperture having a smaller diameter than said cylindrical hole.
 5. The pole base as recited in claim 1 wherein the pole engaging surface of said wedge includes jaws formed longitudinal to the axis of said cylindrical hole. 